full-employment
UK[ˌfʊl ɪmˈplɔɪmənt]US[ˌfʊl ɪmˈplɔɪmənt]
n
an economic situation in which all or nearly all people who are available and want to work have jobs.
Morpheme Breakdown
full
employ
ment
full
complete
employ
use for work
ment
state of
Etymology
the term "full-employment" is a modern compound, primarily emerging in 20th-century economic discourse. its first element, "full," derives from the old english concept of completeness. the core, "employ," traces back to the latin implicāre, which originally meant "to enfold or involve," evolving through french to signify engaging someone in work. the suffix "-ment" solidifies the concept as a state or condition. thus, the word's literal construction—"the state of complete engagement in work"—logically evolved into its current technical definition describing an economic ideal where all willing labor resources are utilized.
Analysis
Structure: full (complete) + employ (use for work) + ment (state of)
full: from old english full, meaning "complete, entire, abundant." it functions as an intensifier in this compound, indicating a total or maximum state.
employ: from middle french employer, from latin implicāre meaning "to involve, engage." in this word, it carries the sense of "using someone's services for work."
ment: a suffix of latin origin (via french -ment) used to form nouns indicating a state, condition, or result of an action.
Examples
the government's primary economic goal is to achieve and maintain full-employment.
policies aimed at stimulating growth often target the full-employment of resources.
economists debate what the true rate of full-employment is in a modern economy.